The Sound Of 2019: 22 Amazing Bands Set To Dominate This Year - Part 2

Following from the first part of our feature (Which you can read here!), we present some more incredible emerging bands who are set to take the year by the horns. From electro-punk to black metal, there's plenty to sink your teeth into here.

Exploring Birdsong

Hailing from the historic streets of Liverpool, Exploring Birdsong are a unique product of the renowned music scene at the heart of the city. Taking the pop orientated fabric of their hometown, the group sew such pop textures with progressive sensibilities and luscious and dynamic orchestration. The end result is truly something extraordinary; a rich tapestry of ideals that are interweaved seamlessly.

Sombre, sober and pensive, the trio breathe new life into symphonic alternative music. The beautiful and haunting piano led symphonies that Exploring Birdsong offer are free of aggression found in symphonic rock and free of the eccentricity found in pop; they are authentic works of pure youthful progression. Despite only having a handful of tracks to their name currently, the group haven’t been ignored by the industry. 2018 saw Exploring Birdsong support Sleep Token at their inaugurational headline show, performing at HRH Prog Festival and even being endorsed by Florence And The Machine. As we enter into 2019, it’s only a matter of time before Exploring Birdsong truly spread their wings.

In an age where the majority of musicians carefully construct their thoughts in fear of backlash, The St. Pieree Snake Invasion couldn’t care less of what you think of them. Frank and forwardly blunt, the band came screaming into existence in 2011 prior to releasing their debut full-length A Hundred Years A Day in late 2015. The release was a fantastic, primal and hungry slab of raw punk energy that took extreme offence at the mundanity of everyday life and the exhausted tropes of the music industry.

Despite being the subject of a loyal and dotting following, the group have been labelled as one of the UK’s most undersung bands for years, often appearing in related think pieces at least bi-annually. However, 2019 is the year this changes. At the end of last year St. Pierre dropped ‘Remystery’, their first track in several years. Despite the passage of time, ‘Remystery’ showed how the group have only become more frustrated and angered with the passing events, with the track being their most intense yet. With a sophomore release planned for this summer, whilst The St. Pierre Snake Invasion have become known for being unapologetically outspoken, 2019 will see the band truly impose their will on the population.

Despite only forming in 2017 and releasing their debut EP in 2018, melodic death metallers Climate Of Fear have already caused quite the stir. With only a handful of tracks to their name, 2018 saw the band tour relentlessly throughout Europe and the UK, performing alongside acts like Malevolence, Twitching Tongues and Vein whilst on their travels.

With their devotion to chaos firmly established, 2019 will see Climate Of Fear shift into higher gears. The group will release their full-length on the 1st of March and early teasers of the record’s contents have already been a topical point of excitement. Imagine At The Gates, but instead of being nurtured by the Gothenberg death metal scene, they were raised by the urbanite sounds of NYC hardcore. Incendiary, volcanic and scathing, Climate Of Fear present a perfectly balanced concoction of melodic death metal hellfire and forceful and violent hardcore sensibilities.

Whilst blackgaze and post-black metal has seemingly been enjoying a period of global prosperity, it feels as there is a distinctive lack of UK based acts who can hold their own against the titans of the genre. Enter Nottingham’s Underdark, a group who perfectly conjure the atmospherics of blackened extremity whilst taking a stand against the fascism occasionally found within the realms of such sonic darkness.

Founded in 2015, the group released their first offering in 2016 with Mourning Cloak; a three track EP that established themselves and their ideology perfectly. Despite only being released the year following their inception, Mourning Cloak felt like a release by a band with years of experience under their belt, a sentiment that only became more poignant last year when the group dropped a split with fellow punishers Antre. The group perfectly manifest the twilight tinged ambience of black metal with their socially conscious take on nordic extremity and it’s clear that the scene has taken notice. Last year the group where awarded the chance to perform before a colossal crowd at Bloodstock and the group have already been confirming shows for this year. With a full-length record on the horizon, Underdark are poised to represent UK extremity this year.

Despite some stating that pop punk is becoming increasingly stagnate as the decade draws on, London’s Fresh are breathing new life into the genre. The group came into existence in 2015, a period where the genre was undergoing a significant upheaval and rather than jumping into the scene, the group made themselves a home within the UK DIY scene.

Earnest and humble, yet wise beyond their years, Fresh paint portraits of modern youth with vibrant creativity and experimentation. Shunning white washing polish for a warm sense of rawness, the group released their brilliant self-titled full-length in 2017. Sometimes justifiably angry, sometimes giddy and jovial, the record radiates a sense of sun drenched disposition despite the lyrical content or subject matter. Never hiding behind vague metaphors and ambiguity, Fresh reveal and express themselves with their art, documenting their lessons in life with humility and exposed modesty.

From the pleasant parishes of Bristol comes something nasty. Hailing from the creative hub of the South West, whist Sugar Horse may be relatively new to the game, their talent precedes them. Committed to all things low end and drenched in reverb, the trio introduced themselves in 2017 with the Soundcloud release ‘Death By Snake’. Recorded in the historic Stag And Hounds, the track is an idyllic yet haunting shoegaze daydream that slowly swan dives into a carbonated sea of glucose reverb and nightmarish doom.

On the back of this one track and a reputation for summoning intoxicating walls of beautiful noise live, the group have shared stages with the likes of Souer, Pijn, and Vennart as well as playing the annual Bristol Harbour Side Festival in 2018. However, 2019 is the year that Sugar Horse truly emerge. On the 22nd of February the group will release Druj, their debut EP. A release that’s set to contain monolithic walls of shoegazing reverb and crushing nightmarish ambience, the group are set to gain a seat among the lords of all things slow and bone rattling dense.

Whilst respectively tight-knit and reserved, UK post-rock is flourishing. Whilst most artists remain content in the community the scene offers, Kent’s Coldbones have been the subject of increasing praise and acclaim from the greater scene at large. By combing elements of prog, tasteful shoegaze and intelligent dynamism, the group released their debut full-length Where It All Began in April 2018, a record that swiftly became praised as the future of UK post rock.

Deeply atmospheric and mature, the record proved that Coldbones weren’t afraid to take the signature textures of the genre and repurpose them, creating an atmospheric tapestry that was simultaneously fresh and reminiscent of the bands that came before them. Where It All Began stood, and still stands as a monument to the mature intelligence of a genre that still has the ability to surprise and deliver ecstasy. With the record under their belts, the group went on to perform at ArcTanGent 2018; as well as open the 2018 Heavy Music Awards, sharing the stage with Milk Teeth, Black Peaks and Fever 333. With the year still dawning, who knows what heights Coldbones will summit in 2019.

Hailing from Glasgow, Lotus Eater are a product of a generation who are facing an ever uncertain future. A band who collectively grow up in a culture ravaged by poverty and continuous struggle, their take on frenzied and scathing alternative hardcore is not only devastating but entirely authentic. Unpredictable and inconsolably violent, Lotus Eater is an aural horror film, but one that is sadly a reality.

Even after releasing their self titled EP in 2017, Lotus Eater hungered for deeper sense of catharsis, releasing a string of singles in the following year. The tracks that followed displayed monumental growth, with Lotus Eater expanding on their already wild and flailing sound. With down tuned shredding, frenzied fretwork, primal bellowing and subtle aural artefacts, Lotus Eater swiftly found themselves the subject of a dotted following who resonated with the frustrated and hungry state of mind the group harbours. With a following and the tracks and attitude to devastate, the group found themselves sharing stages with the likes of Malevolence, Sikth, Astroid Boys and Employed To Serve last year, only before becoming the first ever heavy UK act to be signed to Hopeless Records. With a tour with Last Ten Seconds Of Life and a record looming, Lotus Eater are set to grab the year by the horns before crushing them in their grip.

Whilst the country at large may be yet to be formally introduced to this band, it’s likely that anyone associated with the south west scene will crack a knowing smile when someone mentions the name Phoxjaw. In the short span of their career thus far the group have forged a legion of fans in south due to their high adrenaline, often unpredictable live presence and their ability to ride on an ominous new wave of grunge and post-hardcore that’s poignant and bone breaking.

Their 2018 EP Goodbye Dinosaur captured such raw prowess perfectly, with the release showcasing the intelligence and eloquence that Phoxjaw harbour. Containing the melancholic angst that’s reminiscent of grunge but adding colossal downtuned buzz saws of riffs, Phoxjaw are set to usher in a new golden age of contemporary post-hardcore. With the group already sharing stages with the likes of Black Peaks, Pagan and Swedish Death Candy it’s inevitable that you’re going to see the name Phoxjaw popping up everywhere this year.

When an artist mixes electronics with contemporary punk, the results can vary wildly. It’s a mixture hundreds of bands have tried to perfect, but only a select few have the power to master. Hailing from Brighton, whilst Clt Drp only have number of tracks to their name at the current time, they evidently possess the ability to take the genre of electro-punk to new and unseen heights. Progressive and excitingly fresh, Clt Drp’s take on the genre they pursue simply can’t be compared, pigeonholed or rivalled.

The group quickly became a topical point of conversation in their hometown due to their uncaged and feverish live shows, performances where they truly embody the progressive sensibilities of their home turf. Their released content thus far pulsates and gyrates with glitching backlighted retro-futurism, volatile contemporary punk sensibilities and wild vocals that soar over catastrophic and oscillating soundscapes. With performances already confirmed for Badpond Festival and many more yet to come, Clt Drp are here to challenge the comfortable mundanity found within punk this year.

As their moniker implies, Blanket envelop listeners within a thick sonic fabric of comforting and warm sound. Taking inspiration from the coastal landscapes of their hometown of Blackpool, Blanketcommanded the attention of all in 2017 with their debut EP, Our Brief Encounters; a string of tracks that radiated pure beauty and emotion. With the captivated attention of their peers, the group went onto the release the cinematic and phenomenal full-length How To Let Go in 2018.

Bridging the gap between all things that invoke emotion, the record is an exercise in heart wrenchingly bittersweet post-rock soundscapes that flirt with mature emo introspection and dazzling orchestration. With the record in their arsenal, the group performed a stunning the annual fixture that is ArcTanGent before touring with Zeal & Ardor and releasing Transfixion, an EP composed of covers and acoustic reimaginings. With their covers of Deftones’ ‘Knife Prty’ and Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ racking up serious numbers and dropping jaws, Blanket are here to bring their cinematic scope to the masses this year.